Structure evolution and magnetic property of cobalt-modified Bi0.9Gd0.1FeO3 nanocrystal at morphotropic phase boundary

Abstract Cobalt-modified Bi 0.9 Gd 0.1 FeO 3 nanocrystal was prepared by facile co-precipitation method. The Rietveld refinement results show that minor Co-substitution concentration (x ∼ up to 0.05) in Bi 0.9 Gd 0.1 Fe 1−x Co x O 3 gradually promotes the structural transition from R3c to Pn2 1 a and their magnetic performances are also enhanced. The magnetization of the as-prepared Bi 0.9 Gd 0.1 Fe 1−x Co x O 3 specimen (x = 0.05) at a 1.8 T testing magnetic field is 1.3450 emu/g, which is stronger than those of samples with x = 0 (0.3457 emu/g) and pure phase BiFeO 3 (0.0867 emu/g). The possible mechanism of magnetic transition would mainly be contributed to the substitution-induced suppression of spiral spin structure and magnetically active substitution ions.